So you want to create your own personal place where you can keep track of all the things going on in your life but you just don't know where to go or how to get started. Or maybe you want to start your own online diary. You could open an account with one of those free hosting services and create your own Web site, but then you will need to learn HTML and Web Design. Even if you already know how to create a Web site, you realize that this type of site is going to need a lot of maintenance and work, and you just don't feel like doing all that.
If this all seems a little overwhelming to you then there is another way. You can create your online diary on Open Diary. Open Diary creates an easy, foolproof way for anyone to create their diary online. If you know how to fill in forms, you can create a diary. After you start your new diary you can still link to your main page from other sites if you want to.
To get started creating your new online diary, just go to the Open Diary home page and click on "Start a New Diary". Now you should read through the rules to make sure you agree with their terms of use. If you are a teen, they offer a special section just for you. If you are not a teen then enter the name you want to use as your user name, enter a password, and then click on "Continue". The next section contains questions that are optional.
Now you will be prompted to give your diary a name. The more descriptive and fun you make it the more the chance that other people seeing it will want to read it. At this point you will also be able to write a description of what your diary will be. This description will show up on the start page to your personal diary. You can use this space to tell about you and other people who will be discussed in your diary. You can also go into some detail about your life and maybe even give a brief history.
When you are done introducing yourself you will instantly be ready to start your first entry. Enter a title for your entry and begin to write. When you are finished, just click on "Save" and you will be able view the entry you just made. From this page you can edit and delete your entry if you so please, or you can go to any number of places on the Open Diary site. If you want to view your main start page, click on "my diary" at the top of the page. This is the page where the description you wrote will be. You can also view your entries from here and do any editing you may want to do.
If you go to "change diary style," you can change the background and text colors of the description and daily pages of your diary. You can also choose from a pretty good variety of background designs for your pages and change the font for your titles and your text.
When you are finished working on your diary you should click on "lock my diary". This way no one else can get in on your computer and change your entries. When you lock your diary you will be taken to the Open Diary home page. If you do this soon enough after writing your entry you will see it listed in the "Latest Entries" section on this page.
There are a myriad of things you can see here too if you like to read online diaries. Not only can you read the most recently written entries but you can also see all the new entries that have been written today. There is also a "Theme of the Week" section where you can read all the entries that have been written about the theme of the week. You may even want to write an entry to be entered here yourself each week.
If you are looking for something special to read you can find the diaries sorted by country or by name, age and location. There is also an "Editor's Choice" and "Reader's Choice" section where you can read some of the best content on the site.
If you don't want your diary to be in the public view, you can choose to have it private. All your personal information is kept completely confidential. You can choose which people can read your diary. You can also allow people to respond to your posts if you so desire. This is a great way to make friends that share your same views.
Go ahead and place your life online. It couldn't be any safer if you wrote it all down and stuck it under your mattress and it certainly wouldn't be as fun.